Connecting glass and/or plastic pipes together to form various pipe assemblies, such as solar panels and associated manifolding, is often achieved with glue, solvent welding, or fusion welding processes. Typical heating devices for fusion welding glass and plastic is often application specific and requires extensive preparation of the tubes prior to glue, solvent, or fusion welding. For example, the tubes must be properly mitered or cut to match surfaces. Such surfaces are typically curved requiring a great deal of skill to properly match the joints for welding. Accordingly there is a need for a versatile fusion welder that is adaptable to different applications and has few parts and requires little preparation of the tubes to be joined.